BANKING ANALYTICS

Ranking of the Azerbaijani banking sector (ranking includes the information component of the banking sector, the main events of the world economy, the analytical review of the main indices of the banks which are being ranked)

Trafficking of quantities in excess of 5 kilograms of drugs are among the crimes punishable by death in Iran, dpa reported.

According to unconfirmed reports, over 250 people were executed in 2009 and over 120 so far this year, with most of them being involved in drug trafficking.

"Of course at first we get upset watching one of our citizens being hanged but on the other hand we are happy to see a professional trafficker devastating people's lives being punished," the spokesman of the judiciary said.

"Just imagine what huge damage someone dealing with over 2,000 kilograms of opium or over 100 kilograms of heroin could do and how many lives, especially within the youth, would be destroyed," Gholam-Hossein Mohsen-Ejehi said.

Iran is widely criticized for its harsh approach to criminals, especially drug traffickers and murderers, but a majority of Iranians, even among those critical of the establishment, approves death sentences, especially for child abusers.